Speed garage (occasionally known as plus-8[ DJ magazine, 1996–97, " Raggage": "...earning the scene the slightly mocked nick-names of 'plus-8' or 'speed garage'."]) is a genre of electronic dance music, associated with the UK garage scene, of which it is regarded as one of its subgenres.[ History of Speed garage: "There are many different forms of garage music, most of these were of little interest to UK hard dance fans until the latest mutation came along, speed garage."]
Characteristics
Speed garage features sped-up NY garage 4-to-the-floor
that are combined with
.
[ History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats..."] Snares are placed as over the 2nd and the 4th
, so in other places of the drum pattern.
[ 2Step: "In the original 1997 speed garage, the snares are fussy and clattering over the stomping 4-to-the-floor kickdrum."] Speed garage tunes have warped, heavy
, influenced by
Oldschool jungle[ History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats with a heavy almost junglistic bassline"] and
reggae.
[(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", , , p.216: "Speed garage basslines were drawn from Jamaican reggae..."] Sweeping bass is typical for speed garage.
[(2004) "The Dance Music Manual", , , p.157: "The sweeping bass is typical of UK garage and speed garage tracks and consists of a tight yet deep bass that sweeps in pitch and/or frequencies"] It is also typical for speed garage tunes to have a breakdown.
[ History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats ..., and usually with a break in the middle where the beat is stripped down and then builds up for a long period of time."] Speed garage tunes sometimes featured time-stretched vocals.
[ History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats ..., sometimes with timestretched vocals"] As it is heavily influenced by
Jungle music, speed garage makes heavy use of jungle and dub sound effects, such as gunshots and sirens.
[(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", , , p.216: "Jungle and ragga-style sound effects, such as the rash of gun shot volleys heard on popular speed garage tracks,..."][(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", , , p.216: "Overall, two-step .., less relied on the dub sound effects ... of speed garage"]
Resurgence in the 2020s
In the early 2020s, speed garage experienced a notable resurgence within the UK music scene. This renewed interest in speed garage has been accompanied by a broader UK garage revival.
In November 2024, Interplanetary Criminal teamed up with Sammy Virji to release "Damager".
Notable songs/remixes
The following is a list of notable songs and official remixes which not only
Record chart but were popular within the speed garage scene:
-
"Let's Groove" (1993) – George Morel
-
"Dancing for Heaven" (1995) / "Saved My Life" (1996) – Todd Edwards
-
"Sugar Is Sweeter (Armand's Drum 'n' Bass Mix)" (1996) / "Spin Spin Sugar (Armand's Dark Garage Mix)"
-
"Gunman" (1997) / "Kung-Fu" (1998) – 187 Lockdown
-
"Deeper" (1997) / "God Is a DJ (Serious Danger Remix)" (1998) – Serious Danger
-
"Hype Funk (Dub)" (1997) – Reach & Spin
-
"RipGroove" (1997) – Double 99
-
"Vol. 1 (What You Want What You Need)" (1997) – Industry Standard
-
"Going On" (1997) - Baffled
-
"I Refuse (What You Want)" (1997) – Somore featuring Damon Trueitt
-
"Oh Boy" (1997) – The Fabulous Baker Boys
-
"A London Thing" (1997) – Scott Garcia
-
"Something Goin' On (Loop Da Loop Uptown / Downtown Mix)" (1997) – Loop Da Loop
-
"Ripped in 2 Minutes" (1998) – A vs B
External links
